Who we are. What we do.
Meet Our Team
Respected, fun, maybe a little kooky, but always passionate.
Ellie Byrom-Haley
President
Oversees creative and interpretive development. Works with all team members to create innovative and unexpected results with a sense of humor and an artistic eye. Ellie likes to decompress from work by growing and baking delicious sourdough creations. She also spends many hours creating beautiful and moving mixed-media art pieces in her studio.
Kathy Hughes
Creative Services Director
Kathy manages clients, projects, and internal teams at Gecko Group to keep everyone productive. She gets things done & remains the Queen of budgets. When she’s not knee-deep in a spreadsheet or a zoom call, you can usually find her spending time with her grandkids, reading her favorite mystery, or dreaming of the beach.
Jill Metzger
Creative Director
Responsible for guiding all creative teams, including exhibit, environmental and interpretive design. Jill’s an amazingly talented designer and leader who inspires her team to make meaningful and beautiful projects. If she’s not online following current design trends or advocating for the use of Adobe Bridge, Jill can be found enjoying a glass of wine while pampering her rescue dogs or watching any classic 80s movie.
Bradford W. Bartley
Senior Exhibit Designer, Environmental Designer
Bringing the team’s vision to life. Brad is adept at creating and designing highly interactive museum experiences which are thought provoking, accessible, and universally engaging. He looks at projects from the visitor’s perspective, keeping them in mind during all phases of the project. When he’s not thinking outside the box, Brad can be found remodeling his home, cooking, or sitting down with his family around a puzzle or streaming a British mystery.
Lauren Igo
Art Director & Illustrator
Helps direct projects from concept to creation while ensuring a cohesive look throughout all graphics. Lauren is a skilled designer whose vision and eye for detail help our projects come to life. When she’s not consumed with design, you can find her in the city at her favorite art museum or getting lost in nature (literally or figuratively). She’s partial to tiki bars and her outfits typically match her dog.
Jessica Church
Graphic Designer
Jess helps bring exhibits to life through her thoughtful and vibrant designs for graphic panels, murals, interactives, and more. Jess lends her talents to wide array of projects, bringing a positive attitude with her. When not working her magic in Illustrator, Jess loves competitive board gaming with her family, singing along to her favorite tunes, and playing with her mischievous cat.
Jesse Flood
Senior Graphic Designer, Marketing Manager
Creates beautiful, well-planned graphics and website layouts. Gecko Group relies on Jesse’s artistic approach for many projects, and for marketing strategy, planning, and implementation. When not refining a website, touching up a graphic layout, or reviewing the marketing calendar, Jesse can be found building his impressive sci-fi library or enjoying time waterside with his kids.
Allie Francies
Content Developer & Writer, Interpretive Planner
Allie manages and develops the interpretive content from initial concepts through finished copy. Her organizational skills keep us on point. When she’s not checking the readability of copy, Allie undertakes endless house renovations while singing along to Broadway cast recordings and lavishes attention on her kiddos- both the fur kind and the human kind.
Merry Stehling
Office Manager, Accounting
Merry keeps our office up and running while maintaining our financial health. Merry’s attention to detail and management ability keeps the Gecko machine running smoothly! When she gets away from the office, Merry can be found teaching the practice of Yoga or enjoying the outdoors.
Meet Our Team
Respected, fun, maybe a little kooky, but always passionate.
Gecko Group is a small, dedicated team passionate about creating excellent visitor experiences through relevant storytelling and beautiful design.
EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN
IDENTITY DESIGN & BRANDING
EXHIBIT DEVELOPMENT
EXHIBIT DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION
INTERPRETIVE MASTER PLANNING
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT & WRITING
EXHIBIT EVALUATION
HANDS-ON INTERACTIVES
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
WAYFINDING PLANNING & DESIGN
MARKETING & COLLATERAL
WEB & MULTIMEDIA
EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN
IDENTITY DESIGN AND BRANDING
EXHIBIT DEVELOPMENT
EXHIBIT DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION
INTERPRETIVE MASTER PLANNING
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT & WRITING
EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN
IDENTITY DESIGN AND BRANDING
EXHIBIT DEVELOPMENT
EXHIBIT DESIGN & IMPLEMENTATION
INTERPRETIVE MASTER PLANNING
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT & WRITING
Experience adds up. We are experts in creating compelling interpretive experiences, elegant wayfinding systems, impactful branding and marketing materials, and stunning environmental treatments.
Gecko by the Numbers
AMAZING ARTISTS, DESIGNERS,
WRITERS,
CREATIVE THINKERS
9
AZA
AWARDED
EXHIBITS
7
YEARS IN
BUSINESS
25
LONGEST CLIENT COLLABORATION
20+
OVER
100 CLIENTS SERVED
100
YEAR WBE CERTIFIED